Saint-Saëns - Symphony No 3 in C minor, Op 78 - Järvi 

I wish I could hear this live. As a child, the church organ provided the only ecstatic moments I got from the service!

What a beautiful story, and how lucky you are to have heard such a legendary conductor! A wonderful memory, thank you so much for sharing it.

The organist was probably Berj Zamchochian, who was the BSO's staff organist at the time

brilliant memory

Eddeeeederedeeeeerdedeeeeereeeeeeeeeeeedeeeeerddeeeeeereedeeeeeeedeerreededdeerddeereeeeeddedeerrededererdervddrrddddfdrďdrdfdeereddrdeerereerrereddrddrrrrrddefđd

Some addictions are beneficial to the soul.

I agree wholeheartedly. I was driving when the classical station came on with this composition. I'm a hardened old battle axe. Not much breaks through my crusty exterior but this caught me up in its majesty. I shall happily return time and again to give ear. what a splendid offering

C'est si bon !

@Zenon Antruzinon Actually, the composer expressed himself in French: _J'ai tout donné, ce que j'ai accompli ici, je n'y parviendrai plus jamais…_ and a nearer translation is: _I gave everything; what I accomplished here I could never manage [to do] again_ ... So, while both you and Stripe Rich were slightly off the mark, it' s semantic quibbling really.

​@Zenon Antruzinon I am "lender to a 'quibble', quibble", am I? "Our original posts constituted its equal foundation and continuity"? Did they indeed? May I opine that your conclusions are a hostage to correlativity and a sweet retrenchment of cumulative indignation by wearisome acolytes. (Two can play at that game...)

@Zenon Antruzinon Not before time! Must go, I have a small country to run...

Hilarious! We should commission a televised debate between you two. I’ll moderate for a modest, no, a generous, retainer.

...en realidad uno de los mas grandes compositores que ha dado la humanidad

❤️

A under appreciated genius- Beauty at its purest and finest- from heavens to us! What a gift!!

... and the fifth piano concerto, *TOO!!!!!*

​@@Pfaffenfresser1FINE, I'LL HEAR IT! Jeez

Don't get too arrogant about foisting your musical tastes on others -- most people have no interest in this type of music, because... well they don't need a reason at all, but it's particularly rude to insult their emotional sensitivity becuase they're not turned on by what you are. I would have thought by age 70 you would be mature enough to see that - but apparently not.

Actually I didn't get that impression from him. But on that subject I do get the impression from some classical music haters that think we (classical music lovers) are just silly and phony.

You're talking about arrogance? Read his post. What a condescending, patronizing piece of unthought.@@David_Span

Thanks for sharing that. I got chills just thinking of it.

good choice

I walked down the aisle to a delicate piano version of this segment 6 months ago, it's was perfect ☺️ this version ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_3LrfYwpTpk.html

We are having the glorious last movement played, organ arrangement, as the grand finale to the memorial service next year, for my Dad who died early on in the pandemic, to really celebrate the happy, fulfilled, musically dynamic, triumphant life he had right up to his 95th year...and the fact that he is with Jesus right now, and we'll be reunited one day when Jesus comes back!!!

I thoroghly approve of your parents. It must've been soooo badass

غجج

Pure joy in that moment. Absolutely magical. I like to think they are both picturing a cute pink little pig named BABE.

It's because they use(d) to sleep together

Maybe they were thinking of the song If I Had Words by Scott Fitzgerald & Yvonne Keeley. Listen again to the part at 29:20 and then listen to If I Had Words (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-v-FJfor5BuA.html)

They are grinning because Jaarvi lost the place...as he must have done in rehearsal!!

"If I had words to make a day for you!!! Ba ba BA da dum! I'd sing you a morning golden and new! I would make this day last for all time!!!! And give you a night dipped in moooonshine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 😁😁😁🎶✨🎶✨

Haha, yes!

Yeah, it’s lovely. Maybe they are an item....

I think it is impossible to avoid thinking that the subtle smile of the violinists, and their joy is in part because they simply can not evade of thinking on Babe and the farmers dance... Who did not see that H I S T O R I C A L cinematographic scene will die without having lived a complete life. I believe that the actor (James Cromwell) could be honoured because of that movie and get an early retirement doing anything else in life, yet he proved immensely he is a real star, a genious actor. What this symphony provokes me is the more genuine laughing/crying at the same time, because of such a vertiginous amount of rememberings, emotions, texture sounds and life experiences that comes into my head (and heart) all at the same time, endures my emotional stability every single time I attend... Cheers from Mendoza, Argentina.

@@gustavolascalea1525 I was wondering the same thing, or he's just proud of how well the performance is going. Or both. Agreed on the movie. That's on the list of must see movies in a lifetime.

After watching this so many times, I've only noticed one of the ?second violins noticed the exchange and smiled.

His smile is a joy to behold. The joy of music. I envy him, but then the privilege of listening is a reward in itself.

I agree. Fantastic orchestra and conductor, although the recording itself could be better.

I told my son (30 years old) he had to hear this piece on his way to work. It took exactly 36 minutes from home to the entrance gate to his work. I had to share this with him. I weep every time I hear those chords at the end. Like the 1812 Overture, the tears just flow at the beauty.

I would have loved to hear this majestic work live even once.

For sure!

I had to do a double take when I saw your comment lol. Small world

french symphonic organ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-idL1kQex-ss.html

助かります！

although I don’t super appreciate other works of Saint Saens, I consider this the greatest symphony ever. Yes topping Beethoven great 9th and Mozart Jupiter

I think Saint-Saens is the most under-appreciated composer of the 19th century. This work is the tip of the iceberg for many other of his fine compositions.

Richard Bachert I cannot get enough of it myself. Absolute favourite! Especially this , beautiful.

I know this piece for about 50 years, and it's more or less the same with me... tears always come to my eyes, especially in the final bars. It's really what one can call a MASTERPIECE.

Having an organ in the symphony gives it unparalleled MAJESTY!

Have you heard Sibelius's 7th symphony?

+Maxwell Kaye Not yet; is it more majestic than his 2nd Symphony?

Yes, indeed! Such a marvellous masterpiece must have a heavenly source…

Yes, this section with the piano: 28:31

Too bad there were no cameras to visualize that performance😢

@@wjcroft72 When the whole orchestra seems to be playing in unison below the piano.

Truly celestial ❤

Music can save the world. Thank you for play this wonderful music (From south korea)

P L a n d e m i c . . .

I played percussion when we performed this with our uni orchestra it was one of my favourite concerts ever. Really miss playing :(

This was easily one of the very best pieces I've ever performed. My city young orchestra tackled this one all the way back in 1999 and it was certainly something to cherish. I was playing trombone...so fun!

The virus doesn't need to end. The overreaching, hyperbolic, illogical government response to the virus needs to end and/or be ignored. Gather, practice, put on a show. Tell those leeching hypocrites, "WE'VE HAD ENOUGH! Life is more than simply having a heartbeat! Living life is about music, theater, friendships, hugs, smiles, adventure, hobbies, and good ol' labors."

Me too, but I suspect that the people who enrich our lives by posting these videos are sometimes infringing copyright. As soon as the credits start to roll, the source of the recording becomes apparent - in this case it’s probably the BBC. And at the end of the credits there will usually be an explicit Copyright symbol which the poster certainly wouldn’t want to show! Actually it’s a complex issue for me: copyright laws are intended to protect the livelihoods of the artists, of course. Maestro Jarvi isn’t short of a bob or two, but orchestral players are not always - imho - paid what they deserve, so I feel better about buying a legit DVD of a concert than I do about watching it on RU-vid. But that doesn’t stop me doing a lot of the latter, so you would be right to call me a hypocrite...

I did when I played it!

It’s basically the most thrilling moment in the entire history of music. So very clever, genius

"Like a thunderbolt from the sky" Perfectly well said. Just like that, yes yes!! 👌🏻👌🏻

Totally! Absolutely love the mutual understanding between the two of them :)

@ajb07: "Please fasten your seat belts, keep your hands inside the concert hall at all times, and enjoy the ride."

Yes....great pleasure

Full body chills and tears when I saw that. A moment truly too big for words.

Husband and wife / Lovers / Husband and somebody else's wife ? Intriguing ? ❣

So he said.

Made a wonderful job of it too.

You are completely right! I always say, if musicians would rule the world, and not politicians, it would be much better here on earth…

Here here

Homo sum et ideo nihil humano mihi alienum puto.

That moment brought me to tears.

My hero!

Thank you!

I’m here for 10:42, but yeah it’s a fantastic piece

The Adagio is my fav part

Completely agree, those 10 or so minutes brings out of me so many emotions, but the whole piece is mesmerizing, the expressions of the conductor is unbelievable, love that move hand down once the organ comes on.

So beautifully dreamy.

…and eyes and mouth; he's a joy to watch.

How I agree - That look of soulful expression as the organ takes up the melody and so softly.

Ever seen Dudamel? 😂😂

@@saifnakhleh3351 No, but I'll certainly have a look/listen. Thanks.

Yes he's brilliant and I think there's Neme Jarvii who's done a great 1945 Firebird as well

We were probably in the audience. ❤️

@@robertagregory7177 me too!

Wall of sound. That is an orchestra

Ah yes, I well remember numerous favourites getting eaten up in my cassette player, much longer than 20 years ago. Glad you found this rendition as fulfilling. I agree - it's "glorious and transcendent".

"Wow...wow....I 1st heard this on a Sony walkman 20 yrs ago." EXACTLY!! More like 35 years ago. Wore the cassette tape out. Thought I was hearing something then. THIS was SO MUCH more SATISFYING!

Check out the reading of this piece by Paul Paray, Marcel Dupree, Detroit Symphony on Mercury Living Presence, 1958. Unbelievable. I think it's even more exciting than this performance. They got the critical timings and balances right, where this performance slips a bit here and there (it's a very difficult piece to play or conduct). It's been re-released several times on CD. The vinyl of course, is to die for. This and Beethoven's 9th. Music doesn't get any better.

with a french symphonic pipe organ ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-idL1kQex-ss.html

yes, and the greatest instrument of all plus loudest... lol. very nice. Organ can drown out the whole orchestra but it restrains

It's some kind of Mozart next level shit!

Is it customary to clap between movements for this particular symphony?

@WK no, clapping supposed to be at the end of a piece not between movements

I was bawling so hard in the car riding listening to this the other day!! Sobbing over the notes, composition, dynamics, harmonies, beauty and over all best piece of music ever! Couldn’t believe I was crying so hard and so deeply moved by this piece of music. I’m turning my almost 2 year old grand daughter onto this piece. Every Friday when I babysit her we sit and listen to it together.

Except maybe the drum solo in In A Gadda Da Vida by Iron Butterfly. (No, seriously.)

He's a great conductor no doubt...

Novak eternal longing

I'm no classical music buff, but I thought this guys facial expressions was hilarious.

Yes, that probably was because the musician to whom it was directed, probably had trouble with it during the rehearsals and Paavo gave him a thumbs up. Nice of him to do it, though.

I know Jarvi et Hilary get along well too. Amour Paavo Jarvi.

anita anita Maybe he tried to say her: "you were right... everything is going excellent..."

I remember that feeling when I played symphony.......It always means we nailed it, pure perfection! 😍

I feel the two smiling violinists were thinking about the most immortal pig in history: That DIVINE Babe that taught much to the world...

they are in love

I have the feeling the cameraman knew they were going to do that. I wonder what was going on there.

100% NO DOUBT ABOUT IT

All a matter of personal taste. Many people, me included, love different musical genres. There are Beethoven and Mahler moments, and there are Sinatra and ZZ Top moments, and I revel in them all. The trick is not to play them at the same moment. 😁

"Babe"!

Similar here: I was a kid and already in bed, my father listened to this on his large Stereo, later they told me they found me crying in my sleep... nevertheless I got to know the piece soon after (great Philadelphia recording with Ormandy) and love it to this day very much.

Same here. A pack of tissues right by my side, with that Grand Finale!

Every time ! Without fail the eyes water,& the throat constricts. That pig has got a lot to answer for !

Same here! I played 2nd flute in a performance of this once, and I saw the conductor wipe his eyes during the slow part. I don't think it was sweat.

Me too. Great pieces like this are cosmic in their beauty.... Touches me to my soul.

I agree! So inspiring and elevating!

But there are only two movements in this piece…

A recording will never do justice to this piece. It has to be experienced live to get the full force of the deep organ notes. I have a good CD recording and play it through a reasonable music system with the addition of a subwoofer. When played loud it makes the floor vibrate and sort of goes some way towards reproducing a live experience- but not exactly. If it’s ever played live near you, go and listen. There’s nothing like it.

Wait, there are only two movements...

There are four, usually played 1+2, 3+4. The organ plays in movements 2 and 4.

yubicc Yes, I like how the concertmaster is excited about that part.

Especially that bass drop at 7:13

Watch Andre Riev on RU-vid sometime.

Seems reasonable to me.

Saint-Saens himself once said "a mistake corrected is a thing of great beauty."

Per me la dance macabre è ..cosmica!!

Danse Macabre is very clever and spooky.

One organ surpassing 120(?) other instruments, fabulous.

@@hans2406 I mean the organ is the size of a building. Probably has 50 puppies (pipes, but autocorrect made that pretty funny) per single instrument in the orchestra.

It's hard to find a good live performance, and some of the most acclaimed recordings sound noticeably false because the orchestra and organ are in different places (the orchestra in a concert hall or recording studio, the organ in some cathedral). This Proms performance is outstanding, vivid, exciting, and technically well-executed, and of course the magnificent organ in the Albert Hall is right there towering above the orchestra. Also nice that it's a French orchestra playing Saint-Saëns. Let's give a shout out to the BBC too for an excellent recording. In every way, one of the greats.

Next time drop the "nearly"!

And for a French Orchestra to come to London to do this? C'est magnifique.

Some people are blind to great art; they are to be pitied. They have no idea what they are missing.

You forgot to add **AWESOME**. Why did you leave out **AWESOME**??...lol

Exactly. I was going to write the same. I just can't help it. It's like pepperspray in such a good way :)

So good I wish he wrote more symphonies or even a tone poem

@@OboeFiles I think there are actually 4 symphonic poems written by him.

He wrote 5 wonderful piano concertos, a great cello concerto no 1, and the opera Samson and Delilah, plus lots of other music.

The 1st and 2nd symphonies of his are rarely performed but many great recordings exist. It's great to hear his growth over the 3 of them and can see how he borrowed heavily from the 2nd to write the 3rd.

"I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again." -Saint-Saens on Symphony No.3 in C minor op 78.

Check out the reading of this piece by Paul Paray, Marcel Dupree, Detroit Symphony on Mercury Living Presence, 1958. Unbelievable. It's even more exciting than this performance. They got the critical timings and balances right, where this performance slips a bit here and there (it's a very difficult piece to play or conduct). It's been re-released several times on CD. The vinyl of course, is to die for. This and Beethoven's 9th. Music doesn't get any better.

yep 🤠

Yes indeed.....BRAVI TUTTI from Mexico City!

This is what the Holy Spirit does with human genius. So the word transcending is correct, and the reference to heaven also. Except that the Holy Spirit is here on Earth among us, including - maybe especially - in the awful 2020s... He offers signs through Scripture, nature, culture and Rapture, all with a view to strengthening our Discipleship ... or starting it up for us.

Mahler: hold my beer. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-58fKby1c76E.html [audio only] (start with 8 contrabass, then add 8 horns, 8 trumpets and 7 trombones, 4 harps, 3 choirs and 8 soloists, plus organ, piano, celeste, harmonium, plus ...)

Saint Saens "Damn. The Artillery didn't show up with the 25 pounders. Have to make the best without them. Damn Tchaikovsky beats me again. Anybody bring an 80-pound sledge hammer at least ?".

"Yes" is not a number...🙄

@@vanhouten64 exactly

@@vanhouten64 You didn't understand the meme ...

Perfect. Dr. Jacob Bronowski closed Episode 10 ("World Within World") of his extraordinary 1973 series "The Ascent of Man" with those four opening lines from "Auguries of Innocence."

@@AJNorth Which was my introduction to Blake. Curious that a scientist would be interested in the work of an English mystic. The Ascent of Man is one of the four most influential books in my life.

@@troopship12 Bronowski was a true polymath; in particular he was fascinated by William Blake for much of his life. His first book about him, "A Man Without a Mask," was published in 1944. In 1958 his famous Penguin selection of Blake's poems and letters was published. "William Blake and the Age of Revolution," was published in 1965. In some ways, it is a revised edition of "A Man Without a Mask" - in others, a new book giving a stimulating interpretation of Blake's art and poetry in the context of the revolutionary period in which he lived. As you certainly know, "The "Ascent of Man" book is a transcript of Bronowski's extemporaneous spoken essays delivered directly to the viewer through the lens of the camera (with insignificant edits to make it more readable). If you have not yet seen the thirteen-episode series, then I cannot recommend it highly enough. Though the visuals are powerful (and often stunning), it is his voice and delivery that are truly revelatory (for example, the emotion conveyed in his voice discussing his close friend Leo Szilard in Episode 11, "Knowledge or Certainty"). Ray Bradbury ended his review of Loren Eiseley's "The Night Country" in the Los Angeles Times, "I have read everything this man has written. Loren Eiseley changed my life." Bronowski and Eiseley changed mine.

@@AJNorth Thank you for such a full and thoughtful reply. Somewhere on my bookshelves is one of Bronowski's anthologies of Blake. I have been trying to persuade my childen, so far without success, to read the Ascent or at least chapter 11 (Knowledge or Certainty) which I personally regard as the most significant. The language and even the very title are probably dated by now but there is so much worth reading and considering. The scene of him standing in the pool at Auschwitz is very affecting. As you know he was not afraid to use philosophy as well as poetry to make his point, even surprisingly Oliver Cromwell. In my view he understood what it is to be human. Eiseley I do not know but I suspect I'm about to find out. More books to add to my reading list! With my best wishes.

@@troopship12 You are more than welcome (and thank you for your kind words). As previously mentioned, "The Ascent of Man" had had a profound effect upon me; it was in a philosophy of science course that I first encountered the series. "Knowledge or Certainty" is arguable THE most powerful production that I have ever seen on television, and at its conclusion (which, of course, ran the end credits in silence), the class was in shock; many were in tears. Alas, the copyright police have seen to it that full episodes are not published at RU-vid (except for an exception or two with time compression that shifts Bronowski's magnificent voice, or a distracting envelope surrounding the video), but there are several pertaining to the series. Somewhere, I had either read or heard in an interview with someone associated with the production that the closing scene with Bronowski stepping into the pond at Auschwitz, reaching down and bringing up a handful of the muck at the bottom was unscripted and totally spontaneous; the crew were flabbergasted. In post-production, the slow-motion effect was added as the final coda. Indeed, quoting Cromwell was a remarkable way to bring his point home, and Bronowski's manner of speaking, from cadence and phrasing to pitch, magnified the effect greatly (just as, for example, at the conclusion of Episode 10, culminating in the Blake quotation). Loren Eiseley was introduced to me by my undergraduate physics adviser a lifetime ago (whose home more resembled a library with some furniture, which he and his wife shared with several shelter cats). One day in his lab (where I had a student assistantship), he asked, "Do you know about Loren Eiseley, young fellow?" to which I replied, "No, I don't." A book was immediately placed on my desk in front of me, a copy of "The Night Country" (1971). Though my library is currently in storage, nevertheless there are passages of several of his books committed to memory, one of which I should like to share: "Many years ago, when the first cement sidewalks were being laid in our neighborhood, we children took the paw of our dog Mickey and impressed it into a kind of immortality, even as he modestly floundered and objected. Some time ago, after the passage of many decades, I stood and looked down at that actual walk, now crumbling at the edges from the feet of many passers. No one knows where Mickey the friendly lies. No one knows how many times the dust that clothed that beautiful and loving spirit has moved with the thistledown across the yards where Mickey use to play. This is his only legacy to the future, that dabbled paw mark, whose secret is remembered briefly in the heart of an aging professor." ("The Night Country" - introduction to Chapter 7, "Paw Marks and Buried Towns") Yes, many books to discover... One final book to mention: "Out of My Later Years," by Albert Einstein (Philosophical Library, New York; 1950).; in it is a short essay, "Self-Portrait" (1936): "Of what is significant in one's own existence one is hardly aware, and it certainly should not bother the other fellow. What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life? The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts. For the most part, I do the thing which my own nature drives me to do. It is embarrassing to earn so much respect and love for it. Arrows of hate have been shot at me too; but they never hit me, because somehow they belonged to another world, with which I have no connection whatsoever. I live in the solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity." With warmest best wishes. Cheers, AJN

Most times they show the wrong instrument at the wrong time. Not this time!

All about that bass!

Very often they are out of synch and the camera is anywhere but where it should be. I find it very frustrating, although I usually listen whilst I am reading, in which case it does not matter.

Piano could have done with a bit more attention though…

Also, Violas, did anyone else die a little when everyone else got these magnificent parts and we were playing like the same three notes for like two pages? I loved it a little and like I know its important for the song but I just. sadge.

I heard it for the first time thanks to an orchestra of my country, and it was absolutely amazing.

Glad you enjoyed it. You are not alone.

Agree! The brass section will rattle your bones!

Or played if you're one of the musicians. Got to play this in my graduate school days. So much fun.

I read this comment. I imagined myself listening to it live. Sorry, I've got something in my eye.

Underrated composer. His 5th piano concerto is great and doesn't seem to get the credit others are due

I love the way you put it!

I remember some of the early CD recording labels..BIS in particular that had warning labels regarding playback through inferior sound system equipment..

It's definitely not overlooked here. I have listened to this piece no less than 50 times, and I am giddy with anticipation for the entire 25+ minutes it takes to get there. One would think I should skip the first movement and just head straight to the second, but no. It deserves the full build.

I posted this near the beginning, but the part were is 'sparkles' is at 28:45

Bravo Sir ! Keep music Live ! - when we can, until then - use the recordings.

I tried to explain this to my cousin who thinks classical music is boring!

Järvi is credited in the video title.

You can try Stravinsky fire bird

The Tschaikovsky 4th has to be right up there (but you have to sail in using the contrast from the pizzicato section, so include that too before the ending...)

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly

The end of Sibelius 2 has to be right up there.

Beethoven’s 9th

You are the reason I read the comments section 😂

glooks

On my CD by the Montreal Quebec orchestra people there are 4 movents I detect a Decca thing going on the score I have seen in a library was 2 movements whoever published it.

@@robbell9444 "Although the symphony seems to follow the normal four-movement structure, and many recordings divide it in this manner, it was actually written in two movements: Saint-Saëns intended to create a novel two-movement symphony. The composer did note in his own analysis of the symphony, however, that while it was cast in two movements, "the traditional four movement structure is maintained." Wikipedia

@@ferociousgumby the score was indeed 2 halfs and I detripletified my Adagio in Cm op 1 by Rob Bell on SoundCloud free to listen to so enjoy if you want it's 6min 30 secs so concise.

It’s my personal favorite. I don’t know if any other symphonies that build to their final movements quite like this one does. I know that Mahler is considered the crème of the crop when it comes to epic finales in classical music, but the way this symphony’s final movement starts with a simply phenomenal amount of power, then retreats back only to somehow end with a bigger bang than it started with is simply unparalleled. Saint Saens is such an underrated composer in my book.